POST-HELLER LITIGATION SUMMARY Updated June 1, 2012 I.
Introduction and Overview
Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence is tracking litigation involving Second Amendment challenges to federal, state and local gun laws asserted in the aftermath of the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision in District of Columbia v. Heller, 554 U.S. 570 (2008). LCPGV has examined over 500 federal and state post-Heller decisions discussing the Second Amendment in the preparation of this analysis and has a wide variety of Second Amendment resources available on our web site. A.
Heller and McDonald
In District of Columbia v. Heller, the Supreme Court held for the first time that the Second Amendment protects a responsible, law-abiding citizen’s right to possess an operable handgun in the home for self-defense. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court struck down Washington, D.C. laws prohibiting handgun possession and requiring that firearms in the home be stored unloaded and disassembled or locked. In Heller, the Supreme Court cautioned that the Second Amendment should not be understood as conferring a “right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose,” and identified a non-exhaustive list of “presumptively lawful regulatory measures,” including “longstanding prohibitions” on firearm possession by felons and the mentally ill, as well as laws forbidding firearm possession in sensitive places such as schools and government buildings, and imposing conditions on the commercial sale of firearms. The Court also noted that the Second Amendment is also consistent with laws banning “dangerous and unusual weapons” not in common use at the time, such as M-16 rifles and other firearms that are most useful in military service. In addition, the Court declared that its analysis should not be read to suggest “the invalidity of laws regulating the storage of firearms to prevent accidents.” In 2010, the United States Supreme Court held in a 5-4 ruling that the Second Amendment applies to state and local governments in addition to the federal government in McDonald v. City of Chicago. As it had remarked in Heller, the Court reiterated in McDonald that the Second Amendment only protects a right to possess a firearm in the home for self-defense, and that a broad spectrum of gun laws remains constitutionally permissible. B.
Lawsuits After Heller and McDonald
Since Heller, federal and state courts have rejected Second Amendment challenges to a wide variety of firearms laws nationwide. As discussed in Section IV below, the majority of Second Amendment challenges have been raised in criminal cases. These challenges have been largely unsuccessful, as courts have found that the Second Amendment is consistent with numerous federal and state criminal laws.
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Additionally, plaintiffs have initiated a flood of civil lawsuits since Heller, including nearly fifty significant ongoing suits against state and local governments and the District of Columbia, and eight significant ongoing suits against the federal government. As discussed in Section III, while most civil plaintiffs’ Second Amendment claims have been as unsuccessful as those raised by criminal defendants, many of these ongoing suits seek to broadly expand the Amendment beyond the right articulated in Heller and McDonald. Significant questions about the scope and application of the Second Amendment remain unresolved following Heller and McDonald, questions which post-Heller courts continue to confront. For more on these issues, see Section V below. II.
Recent Developments in Second Amendment Litigation
The following significant developments have occurred in Second Amendment litigation since April 6, 2012. A.
Churchill v. Harris (N.D. Cal.): Plaintiffs file suit challenging law enforcement policies governing the return of firearms seized as evidence
On April 6th, the plaintiffs filed suit in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California arguing that policies of the California Attorney General and San Francisco and Oakland Police Departments governing the return of firearms seized as evidence violated the Second Amendment.i B.
Portillo-Munoz v. United States (U.S.): Nation’s highest court refuses appeal of decision upholding federal law prohibiting illegal aliens from possessing guns
On April 23rd, the U.S. Supreme Court denied the petitioner’s petition for writ of certiorari, which asked the court to consider whether illegal aliens are protected by the Second Amendment.ii C.
Baker v. Kealoha (D. Haw.): Second Amendment challenge to Hawaii’s handgun permit scheme survives motion to dismiss but is unlikely to succeed on the merits
On April 30th, in a challenge to Hawaii’s handgun carry permitting scheme, which requires a permit to carry a handgun in public openly or concealed, the U.S. District Court for the District of Hawaii granted the state defendants’ motion for judgment on the pleadings, granted in part and denied in part the Honolulu defendants’ motion to dismiss, and denied the plaintiff’s motion for preliminary injunction.iii Although the court is allowing the Second Amendment claims against the City and County of Honolulu to go forward, it stated that the plaintiff is not likely to succeed on the merits of those claims because the permitting scheme at issue does not appear to implicate the Second Amendment and, even if it does, the scheme will survive intermediate scrutiny review. The court concluded that intermediate scrutiny appeared to be the proper standard of review because it is the standard that most appellate courts have applied to Second Amendment challenges. It found that the scheme would most likely survive that level of review
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because, among other reasons, “The government has a significant interest in empowering local law enforcement to exercise control over both concealed and open-carry firearms permits.” D.
United States v. Colon-Quiles (D.P.R.): Federal district court upholds federal law prohibiting possession of weapons with obliterated serial numbers
On May 4th, the U.S. District Court for Puerto Rico rejected a Second Amendment challenge to the federal law prohibiting possession of weapons with obliterated serial numbers and upheld the law under intermediate scrutiny. The court found that intermediate scrutiny was the appropriate standard of review because the law “simply regulates the manner in which a person may exercise his Second Amendment right to bear arms, but does not prohibit the exercise of such a right.”iv E.
United States v. Huitron-Guizar (10th Cir.): Tenth Circuit says that the Second Amendment should apply to individuals who are not U.S. citizens
On May 7th, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit upheld the federal law prohibiting illegal aliens from possessing firearms under intermediate scrutiny.v Because the court “hesitate[d] to infer from Heller a rule that the right to bear arms is categorically inapplicable to non-citizens,” the court assumed for the sake of analysis that the Second Amendment applies to illegal aliens and analyzed the challenge under intermediate scrutiny. It explained that intermediate scrutiny was the appropriate standard of review in this case because the defendant had been in the country for decades and the law entirely prevented him from possessing a firearm. The court then deferred to Congress in concluding that the law held up under that standard of review. Notably, however, the court argued that at least some non-citizens should be able to bear arms, stating, “If the right’s ‘central component,’ as interpreted by Heller, is to secure an individual’s ability to defend his home, business, or family (which often includes children who are American citizens), why exactly should all aliens who are not lawfully resident be left to the mercies of burglars and assailants?” F.
United States v. Greeno (6th Cir.): Federal appellate court upholds sentence enhancement for possession of a firearm while committing a drug offense
On May 21st, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit upheld the constitutionality of the federal law permitting a sentence enhancement for possession of a firearm during the commission of a drug offense.vi The court noted that Greeno was its first published decision to address a Second Amendment challenge to the sentence enhancement since Heller. Applying a two-prong test that many courts have adopted for considering Second Amendment challenges post-Heller, the court found that the sentence enhancement did not burden conduct protected by the Second Amendment under the first prong of the test because the Second Amendment only protects the possession of a firearm for lawful purposes. The court explained that the “enhancement is consistent with the historical understanding of the right to keep and bear arms, which did not extend to possession of weapons for unlawful purposes.” Thus, the court did not need to conduct a scrutiny analysis under the test’s second prong.
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G.
Tyler v. Holder (W.D. Mich.): Plaintiff challenges federal law prohibiting firearm possession by those who have been involuntarily committed to a mental hospital
On May 21st, the plaintiff filed suit in U.S. District court for the Western District of Michigan challenging the federal law prohibiting individuals who have been involuntarily committed to a mental institution from possessing firearms.vii The complaint argues that policies of the State of Michigan and the federal government prevent individuals from regaining their firearm rights after an involuntary commitment, and that the law and policies violate the Second Amendment. H.
Nordyke v. King (9th Cir.): Ninth Circuit’s en banc decision ends thirteen year old Second Amendment dispute without addressing scope or standard of review
On June 1st, an en banc panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit affirmed the district court’s decision dismissing plaintiffs-gun show operators’ Second Amendment claim against Alameda County, California (“County”).viii The panel’s decision brought an end to a thirteen year old lawsuit challenging the County’s interpretation of its ordinance as prohibiting gun shows on County property, including on fairgrounds where the plaintiffs had sought to hold a gun show. Rather than addressing the scope of the Second Amendment’s protection – or providing guidance as to the appropriate level of scrutiny for reviewing Second Amendment challenges, as the 3judge appellate panel did in its May 2, 2011 decision, when it adopted a substantial burden framework – the en banc panel concluded that the County’s interpretation of its ordinance as allowing gun shows on County fairgrounds so long as the guns are “secured to prevent unauthorized use,” such as by tethering the guns to a table, was “reasonable” under Heller, which approved of restrictions on the sale of firearms. The panel explained, “Thus read, the ordinance regulates the sale of firearms at Plaintiffs’ gun shows only minimally, and only on County property. No matter how broad the scope of the Second Amendment – an issue we leave for another day – it is clear that, as applied to Plaintiffs’ gun shows and as interpreted by the County, this regulation is permissible.” I.
United States v. Decastro (2d Cir.): Second Circuit adopts substantial burden framework for reviewing Second Amendment challenges
On June 1st, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit adopted a substantial burden test for reviewing Second Amendment challenges, under which only those restrictions that substantially burden the Second Amendment trigger heightened scrutiny.ix The court applied the test to uphold the federal law prohibiting an individual from transporting into his or her state of residence a firearm acquired in a different state, explaining that the law “only minimally affects the ability to acquire a firearm” and thus does not meaningfully burden the Second Amendment. Because the law did not trigger heightened scrutiny, the court declined to decide which level of heightened scrutiny might apply to a law that did substantially burden the Second Amendment. The court also noted that it was not deciding whether certain individuals, firearms, or activities would fall entirely outside the scope of the Second Amendment’s protection. Additionally, because the plaintiff had failed to apply for a handgun license in New York and had failed to prove that doing so would have been futile, the court refused to consider the plaintiff’s argument 4
that the federal law at issue, in conjunction with New York City’s firearm licensing scheme, amounted to a handgun ban like the one at issue in Heller. J.
United States v. Rhodes (S.D. W. Va.): Federal district court considers but rejects nonviolent felon’s as-applied challenge to federal felon possession prohibition
On June 1st, the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of West Virginia rejected the defendant’s argument that the federal law prohibiting felons from possessing firearms was unconstitutional as applied to him because he had been convicted of only one nonviolent felony over twenty years ago.x Because the court noted that “Our court of appeals, and others, have suggested the possibility that a single, well-aged felony might warrant relief from the burden imposed by [the federal law prohibiting felons from possessing firearms]” it analyzed the challenge under the two-prong test that the Fourth Circuit adopted in United States v. Chester, 628 F.3d 673 (4th Cir. 2010). Determining that intermediate scrutiny was the appropriate level of review, it explained that “it is often assumed that defendant is entitled to some measure of Second Amendment protection to keep and possess firearms in his home for self-defense” The court noted, however, that because felon possession prohibitions were identified as “presumptively lawful regulatory measures” in Heller, the burden of proof shifts to the defendant to prove that the “his factual circumstances remove his challenge from the realm of ordinary challenges.” Because the defendant in this case had had been convicted of numerous misdemeanor offenses since the time of his felony, however, the court concluded that he was not the type of defendant who would be able to succeed in rebutting the presumptive lawfulness of the felon possession prohibition. Moreover, the court explained that, according to the Third Circuit, Congress specifically changed the law in 1961 to prohibit all felons – rather than merely nonviolent felons – from possessing firearms. Finally, it should be noted that the court acknowledged that “there is some doubt that an as-applied challenge will succeed in this circuit even when a defendant's prior convictions are nonviolent.” III.
Civil Litigation Raising Second Amendment Claims After Heller A.
Significant Pending Lawsuits
State and local governments – including New York City, Chicago, San Francisco, Boston, Los Angeles, Sacramento, San Diego, Westchester County (New York), Denver, and the states of California, Colorado, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Maryland, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Nevada, Texas, and Virginia – and the District of Columbia presently face forty-four significant lawsuits challenging various firearms laws under the Second Amendment. More than fifteen of these suits involve challenges to laws regulating the carrying of concealed weapons, while others challenge registration laws, bans on unsafe handguns and assault weapons, and safe storage laws. Additionally, seven significant suits raising Second Amendment claims have been initiated against the federal government. For more information about all of the pending cases, please refer to the Post-Heller Litigation Summary Appendix at http://smartgunlaws.org/postheller-litigation-summary/.
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B.
Civil Suits Have Been Largely Unsuccessful
Generally, Second Amendment challenges by civil plaintiffs have been unsuccessful. In the wake of the Heller decision, for example, the District of Columbia adopted comprehensive firearms laws. In September 2011, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed in part and remanded in part the federal district court’s decision rejecting a Second Amendment challenge to many of those laws, including D.C.’s firearms registration system, ban on assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines, one-handgun-a-month law, and law requiring the reporting of lost or stolen firearms.xi Federal and state courts have also upheld laws requiring the registration of all firearms,xii requiring an applicant for a license to carry a concealed weapon to show “good cause,” “proper cause,” or “need,” or qualify as a “suitable person,” xiii requiring an applicant for a handgun possession license to be a state residentxiv or pay an administrative fee,xv requiring an applicant for a concealed carry license to be at least twenty-one-years-old,xvi prohibiting the sale of firearms and ammunition to individuals younger than twenty-one-years-old,xvii prohibiting domestic violence misdemeanants from possessing firearms,xviii and prohibiting the possession of firearms in places of worshipxix and within college campus facilities and at campus events. xx A Pennsylvania court also recently upheld a state Department of Labor and Industry regulation prohibiting firearms on property owned or leased by the Department, including in vehicles parked on Department property.xxi In contrast to the majority of courts that have considered challenges to similar laws, a federal district court in Maryland recently struck down a requirement in state law that applicants for concealed carry permits show “a good and substantial reason” for carrying a firearm in order to obtain a permit to carry a firearm in public.xxii Additional outliers include a North Carolina trial court decision striking down a state law that prohibits felons from possessing firearms, xxiii a North Carolina federal district court decision finding that a state law prohibiting the carrying of firearms during states of emergency violated the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights, xxiv and a Massachusetts federal district court decision finding that a U.S. citizenship requirement for possessing and carrying firearms violated the plaintiffs’ Second Amendment rights.xxv Additionally, several courts have cited Heller in expressing concern about state action that would limit an individual’s right to possess a firearm where that person is not prohibited by law from doing so.xxvi A federal district court refused to dismiss a plaintiff’s suit alleging that Illinois’ licensing law violated the Second Amendment by preventing her from being able to possess a firearm for self-defense while she stayed in an Illinois friend’s home.xxvii Additionally, the Seventh Circuit enjoined enforcement of a Chicago ordinance banning firing ranges within city limits where range training was a condition of lawful handgun ownership.xxviii IV.
Post-Heller Second Amendment Challenges by Criminal Defendants A.
Federal Firearms Statutes
Courts have almost uniformly rejected criminal defendants’ Second Amendment challenges to federal firearms laws, including challenges to the laws prohibiting the possession of a firearm by 6
a convicted felonxxix or by anyone “employed for” a convicted felon (such as a bodyguard),xxx possession during the commission of a crime,xxxi possession of an illegal weapon (e.g., a machine gun, a sawed-off shotgun, or other prohibited weapon),xxxii possession in violation of a court order,xxxiii possession by an illegal alien,xxxiv possession in a prohibited place,xxxv possession by an individual who is under indictment for a felony, xxxvi possession by an unlawful user of a controlled substance,xxxvii and possession by a domestic violence misdemeanant. xxxviii Notably, a few courts have cited Heller in decisions curtailing the federal government’s ability to penalize or prohibit otherwise lawful possession of a firearm during criminal proceedings.xxxix Most notably, one federal district court in New York declared unconstitutional a federal law imposing a pretrial bail condition that would have prohibited the defendant from possessing firearms, although a Ninth Circuit panel directed a lower court to impose the same prohibition.xl A federal court also dismissed an indictment for aiding and abetting the possession of a firearm by a convicted felon.xli In that case, the defendant, who was not prohibited by law from possessing guns, owned and kept a rifle in her home even though her boyfriend was a convicted felon. Because the government’s case was based on the defendant’s possession of the firearm within her home, the court concluded, to allow the indictment to proceed “would be countenancing the total elimination of the right of a sane, non-felonious citizen to possess a firearm…in her home.” A federal appellate court recently overturned the dismissal and remanded the case for further review.xlii B.
State and Local Firearms Laws
Most courts that have heard criminal defendants’ Second Amendment challenges to state and local laws have upheld the statutes at issue.xliii State courts have published decisions affirming state laws prohibiting the unlicensed carrying of handguns outside of the home,xliv prohibiting convicted felons from possessing firearms,xlv authorizing the seizure of firearms in cases of domestic violence,xlvi prohibiting the possession of assault weapons and 50-caliber rifles,xlvii and requiring that an individual possess a license to own a handgun.xlviii Notably, however, a Wisconsin trial court dismissed an indictment under the state’s former law prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons as violating the Second Amendment. xlix Although the defendant was prosecuted for possessing a concealed knife while in an apartment, the court ignored relevant precedent that exempted possession in the home from Wisconsin’s concealed weapons prohibition. More recently, however, Wisconsin appellate courts have upheld the state’s former law prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons in two separate decisions.l Additionally, an Ohio trial court dismissed, on Second Amendment grounds, an indictment against a defendant for possession of a firearm following a conviction for a drug crime.li Additionally, the District of Columbia Court of Appeals reversed a defendant’s conviction for unlawful possession of handgun ammunition, holding that the Second Amendment required the government to prove both that the defendant possessed the ammunition and that he did not possess a registration certificate for a weapon of the same caliber (where, under prior case law, proof of registration was only an affirmative defense available to defendants).lii Separately, the D.C. Court of Appeals heard a Second Amendment challenge brought by an individual convicted 7
of unlawful firearm possession prior to Heller. The appellant had been prosecuted for the possession of an unregistered firearm in his home, and the court remanded the case for a hearing to determine whether the appellant had, as he claimed, been in possession of the firearm for the constitutionally-protected purpose of self-defense.liii V.
Emerging Issues A.
How Strictly Courts Should Scrutinize Second Amendment Challenges
While the Heller Court established that a law completely prohibiting a responsible, law-abiding citizen from possessing an operable handgun in the home for self-defense would violate the Second Amendment, and further held that certain other types of laws are “presumptively lawful” against Second Amendment challenges, the Court did not explain how lower courts should evaluate Second Amendment challenges going forward. The Court did, however, suggest that evaluation using the “rational basis” test – holding that a law is constitutional if it is rationally related to a legitimate government interest – was not appropriate. Courts have summarily dismissed numerous Second Amendment challenges, concluding that the laws at issue are “presumptively lawful regulatory measures” explicitly protected in Heller. liv In challenges after Heller that have considered how firearms laws should be evaluated, courts have typically chosen between two levels of heightened scrutiny often applied to constitutional rights: “intermediate scrutiny,” which examines whether there is a reasonable fit between the law and an important or significant government interest, and “strict scrutiny,” which examines whether a law is narrowly tailored to achieve a compelling government interest. Most appellate and district courts that have explicitly adopted a level of scrutiny, including Third, Fourth, Tenth, and D.C. Circuit panels, have applied intermediate scrutiny to Second Amendment challenges.lv Courts have arrived at intermediate scrutiny using differing approaches, but the clear trend suggests that laws that do not prevent a law-abiding, responsible citizen from possessing an operable handgun in the home for self-defense should face, and survive, an intermediate scrutiny review. At the same time, a few courts have reviewed Second Amendment challenges under strict scrutiny.lvi Additionally, a Seventh Circuit decision held that the level of applicable scrutiny should be determined by “how close the law comes to the core of the Second Amendment right and the severity of the law's burden on the right.”lvii Several courts have held that heightened scrutiny only applies where the challenged law burdens conduct protected by the Second Amendment. A Ninth Circuit decision did not identify which level of scrutiny ought to apply to Second Amendment challenges, but did hold that heightened scrutiny is only warranted if the challenged law substantially burdens the Second Amendment; if a regulation’s burden on the right is not substantial, only a rational basis level of review is warranted.lviii A New York district court that analyzed a Second Amendment challenge to the state’s discretionary concealed carrying licensing scheme upheld the law without applying heightened scrutiny, finding that it did not burden conduct protected by the Second Amendment.lix The court thereby avoided the need to conduct a scrutiny analysis.lx 8
While intermediate scrutiny is most commonly used in Second Amendment cases, an Illinois appellate court recently applied rational basis review to uphold a state law prohibiting the carrying of guns in public.lxi The court reasoned that when the U.S. Supreme Court said in Heller and McDonald that rational basis review was inappropriate for Second Amendment challenges, it was referring only to challenges to the “core” Second Amendment right of a lawabiding citizen to possess a handgun in the home for self-defense. Similarly, a federal district court expressed hesitation about applying intermediate scrutiny in evaluating a Second Amendment challenge, stating that “intermediate scrutiny seems excessive.”lxii The court explained that, “To place gun rights on the same high protected level as speech rights seems an odd view of American democratic values.” Finally, a Wisconsin appellate court recently applied a reasonableness test to uphold the constitutionality of Wisconsin’s now repealed law prohibiting concealed carry.lxiii In almost every case, however, regardless of the test or level of scrutiny that has been applied, the Second Amendment challenge has been rejected and the statute at issue has been upheld. Still, the scrutiny issue remains a central component of much ongoing Second Amendment litigation. B.
Whether the Second Amendment Right Extends Beyond the Home
Another of the key questions presently being litigated in post-Heller suits is whether or to what extent the Second Amendment should apply outside of the home. In Heller, the Supreme Court held that the Amendment protects a right to possess a firearm within the home, “where the need for defense of self, family, and property is most acute.” The Court emphasized that the right protected is “not a right to keep and carry any weapon whatsoever in any manner whatsoever and for whatever purpose. For example, the majority of the 19th-century courts to consider the question held that prohibitions on carrying concealed weapons were lawful under the Second Amendment or state analogues.” The Court also declared that laws prohibiting firearm possession in sensitive places (including schools and government buildings) were presumptively lawful. In evaluating Second Amendment challenges related to conduct outside the home, a significant number of courts have concluded that the Amendment only protects conduct within the home.lxiv However, three federal district courts in the Fourth Circuit have extended the Second Amendment’s protection beyond the home.lxv Other courts have deferred the question of whether the Second Amendment applies outside the home, but have ultimately upheld restrictions on firearm possession in public places.lxvi Even the few courts that have suggested that some form of Second Amendment protection ought to extend outside the home have generally upheld laws restricting firearm possession in public places.lxvii VI.
Conclusion
Because of the Supreme Court’s decisions in Heller and McDonald, the nation’s lower courts are clogged with a substantial volume of Second Amendment litigation, despite the fact that most, if not all, federal, state and local firearms laws do not prevent a responsible, law-abiding citizen 9
from possessing an operable handgun in the home for self-defense, and thus, would satisfy the Supreme Court’s holdings. Going forward, the gun lobby will likely continue to employ the threat of litigation to obstruct state and local efforts to enact common sense gun violence prevention measures. Policymakers should rest assured, however, that nothing in either Heller or McDonald prevents the adoption of many types of reasonable laws to reduce gun violence.
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Churchill v. Harris, No. 12-01740 (N.D. Cal. Filed April 6, 2012). Portillo-Munoz v. United States, 182 L. Ed. 2d 821 (U.S. Apr. 23, 2012). iii Baker v. Kealoha, No. 11-00528 (order dated 4/30/12) (unpublished). iv United States v. Colon-Quiles, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 62587 (D.P.R. May 4, 2012). v United States v. Huitron-Guizar, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 9256 (10th Cir. May 7, 2012). vi United States v. Greeno, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 10147 (6th Cir. May 21, 2012). vii Tyler v. Holder, No. 12-00523 (W.D. Mich. Filed May 21, 2012). viii Nordyke v. King, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 11076 (9th Cir. June 1, 2012). ix United States v. Decastro, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 11213 (2d Cir. June 1, 2012). x United States v. Rhodes, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 76363 (S.D. W. Va. June 1, 2012). xi Heller v. District of Columbia, 670 F.3d 1244 (D.C. Cir. 2011); See also Wilson v. Cook County, 943 N.E.2d 768 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011) (upholding Cook County, Illinois ordinance prohibiting the possession of assault weapons and large capacity ammunition magazines), reh’g granted by 949 N.E.2d 1104 (Ill. 2011). xii Justice v. Town of Cicero, 577 F.3d 768 (7th Cir. Ill. 2009) (finding that registration “merely regulated gun possession” rather than prohibiting it), cert. denied, 177 L. Ed. 2d 323 (2010). xiii Birdt v. Beck, No. 10-08377 (order dated 1/13/12) (unpublished); Piszczatoski v. Filko, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 4293 (D. N.J. Jan. 12, 2012); Hightower v. Boston, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111327 (D. Mass. 2011); Kuck v. Danaher, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 111793 (D. Conn. 2011); Kachalsky v. Cacace, 817 F. Supp. 2d 235 (S.D.N.Y. 2011); Richards v. County of Yolo, 821 F. Supp. 2d 1169 (E.D. Cal. 2011); Peruta v. County of San Diego, 758 F. Supp. 2d 1106 (S.D. Cal. 2010). xiv Osterweil v. Bartlett, 819 F. Supp. 2d 72 (N.D.N.Y 2011). xv Kwong v. Bloomberg, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 41218 (S.D.N.Y. Mar. 26, 2012). xvi Jennings v. McCraw, No. 10-00141 (order dated 1/19/12) (unpublished). xvii Jennings v. ATF, No. 10-00140 (order dated 9/29/11) (unpublished). xviii Enos v. Holder, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25759 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 28, 2012). xix GeorgiaCarry.Org, Inc. v. Georgia, 764 F. Supp. 2d 1306 (M.D. Ga. 2011) (concluding that “[p]rohibiting the carrying of firearms in a place of worship bears a substantial relationship to that important goal by protecting attendees from the fear or threat of intimidation or armed attack.”). xx Digiacinto v. Rector & Visitors of George Mason Univ., 704 S.E.2d 365 (Va. 2011) (noting that weapons were prohibited “only in those places where people congregate and are most vulnerable…Individuals may still carry or possess weapons on the open grounds of GMU, and in other places on campus not enumerated in the regulation.”); Tribble v. State Bd. of Educ., No. 11-0069 (Dist. Ct. Idaho December 7, 2011) (upholding a University of Idaho policy prohibiting firearms in University-owned housing). xxi Perry v. State Civ. Serv. Comm'n, 2011 Pa. Commw. Unpub. LEXIS 919 (Pa. Commw. Ct. Nov. 14, 2011). xxii Woollard v. Sheridan, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28498 (D. Md. March 2, 2012). xxiii Johnston v. State, No. 10-S281, slip op. (N.C. Superior Ct. October 24, 2011) (overturning a North Carolina law prohibiting felons from possessing firearms). xxiv Bateman v. Perdue, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47336 (E.D.N.C. Mar. 29, 2012). xxv Fletcher v. Haas, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 44623 (D. Mass. Mar. 30, 2012). xxvi Simmons v. Gillespie, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 81424 (C.D. Ill. Aug. 1, 2008) (finding possible Second Amendment violation where police chief issued personnel memorandum forbidding employee from possessing firearms off-duty); Cleveland v. Fulton, 898 N.E.2d 983 (Ohio Ct. App. 2008) (finding due process violation in city’s refusal to return firearm to person acquitted of gun crimes); Jennings v. Mukasey, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82465 (M.D. Fla. Sept. 22, 2008) (finding possible Second Amendment claim in alleged government threat to prosecute individual if he lawfully pursued work in the firearms industry). xxvii Mishaga v. Monken, 753 F. Supp. 2d 750 (C.D. Ill. 2010). ii
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xxviii
Ezell v. City of Chicago, 651 F.3d 684 (7th Cir. 2011). See, e.g., United States v. Edge, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15002 (W.D.N.C. Feb. 8, 2012); United States v. Moore, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1335 (4th Cir. Jan. 25, 2012); United States v. Torres-Rosario, 658 F.3d 110 (1st Cir. 2011); United States v. Loveland, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 119954 (W.D.N.C. 2011); United States v. Williams, 616 F.3d 685 (7th Cir. 2010); United States v. Anderson, 559 F.3d 348 (5th Cir. 2009); United States v. Kirkpatrick, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 82801 (W.D.N.C. July 27, 2011). xxx United States v. Weaver, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29613 (S.D. W. Va. Mar. 7, 2012). xxxi See, e.g., United States v. Prince, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 54116 (D. Kan. June 26, 2009); United States v. Bumm, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34264 (S.D. W. Va. Apr. 17, 2009); Piscitello v. Bragg, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 21658 (W.D. Tex. Feb. 18, 2009). xxxii See, e.g., United States v. Marzzarella, 614 F.3d 85 (3d Cir. 2010) (affirming conviction for possession of a firearm with an obliterated serial number); United States v. Fincher, 538 F.3d 868 (8th Cir. 2008), cert. denied, 129 S. Ct. 1369 (2009). xxxiii See, e.g., United States v. Larson, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 19817 (W.D. Va. Feb. 16, 2012) (upholding federal law prohibiting individuals who are subject to domestic violence-related court orders from possessing firearms); United States v. Chapman, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 57 (4th Cir. Jan. 4, 2012); United States v. Luedtke, 589 F. Supp. 2d 1018 (E.D. Wis. 2008). xxxiv United States v. Portillo-Munoz, 643 F.3d 437 (5th Cir. 2011). xxxv See, e.g., United States v. Masciandaro, 638 F.3d 458 (4th Cir. Va. 2011) (affirming defendant’s conviction for possession of a loaded weapon in a motor vehicle in a national park); United States v. Lewis, 50 V.I. 995 (D.V.I. 2008). xxxvi United States v. Laurent, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139907 (E.D.N.Y. 2011). xxxvii United States v. Carter, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 1243 (4th Cir. Jan. 23, 2012). xxxviii See, e.g., United States v. Chester, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 16821 (S.D. W. Va. Feb. 10, 2012); United States v. Staten, 666 F.3d 154 (4th Cir. 2011); United States v. Skoien, 614 F.3d 638 (7th Cir. 2010); United States v. White, 593 F.3d 1199 (11th Cir. 2010); United States v. Booker, 644 F.3d 12 (1st Cir. 2011); United States v. Holbrook, 613 F. Supp. 2d 745 (W.D. Va. 2009). See also In re United States, 578 F.3d 1195 (10th Cir. 2009). xxxix United States v. Kitsch, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 58904 (E.D. Pa. Aug. 1, 2008) (holding that the government needed to prove that the defendant charged under the federal felon-in-possession statute had knowledge that he was a felon after he had been previously told by law enforcement that his conviction would be set aside). xl United States v. Arzberger, 592 F. Supp. 2d 590 (S.D.N.Y. 2008); United States v. Kennedy, 327 Fed. Appx. 706 (9th Cir. 2009). xli United States v. Huet, 2010 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 123597 (W.D. Pa. Nov. 22, 2010). See also United States v. Skeens, 589 F. Supp. 2d 757 (W.D. Va. 2008) (refusing to enhance a defendant’s sentence for illegal firearm possession where a handgun found in his home was owned by the defendant’s wife for self-defense). xlii United States v. Huet, 2012 U.S. App. LEXIS 133 (4th Cir. Jan. 5, 2012). xliii See, e.g., Wilson v. State, 207 P.3d 565 (Alaska Ct. App. 2009) (upholding statute prohibiting handgun possession by felons); People v. Flores, 86 Cal. Rptr. 3d 804 (Cal. App. 4th Dist. 2008) (upholding statues prohibiting possession following misdemeanor conviction, carrying of a concealed firearm, and carrying of a loaded firearm in a public place); People v. Akins, 2011 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1838 (Ill. App. Ct. Aug. 3, 2011) and People v. Palmer, 2011 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2055 (Ill. App. Ct. Aug. 26, 2011) (both upholding a state prohibition on carrying or possessing a firearm when certain aggravating circumstances are present); People v. Thomas, 2011 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2000 (Ill. App. Ct. Aug. 22, 2011) and People v. Pinkard, 2011 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2098 (Ill App. Ct. Sept. 2, 2011) (both upholding a statute prohibiting individuals who have been convicted of two or more enumerated offenses to receive, sell, possess, or transfer any firearm). xliii People v. Dawson, 403 Ill. App. 3d 499, 510, 934 N.E.2d 598, 343 Ill. Dec. 274 (2010). xliv Ohio v. Henderson, 2012 Ohio 1268, 2012 Ohio App. LEXIS 1117 (Ohio Ct. App. Mar. 26, 2012); Oregon & Portland v. Christian, 2012 Ore. App. LEXIS 344 (Or. Ct. App. Mar. 21, 2012); Williams v. State, 10 A.3d 1167, 1178 (Md. 2011); People v. Mimes, 953 N.E.2d 55 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011); People v. Montyce H., 2011 Ill. App. LEXIS 1184 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011); People v. Williams, 962 N.E.2d 1148 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). xlv Wisconsin v. Pocian, 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 298 (Wis. Ct. App. Apr. 11, 2012); People v. Spencer, 2012 Ill. App. LEXIS 82 (Ill. App. Ct. Feb. 6, 2012); Pohlabel v. Nevada, 2012 Nev. LEXIS 2 (Nev. Jan. 26, 2012); People v. Polk, 2011 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2278 (Ill. App. Ct. Sept. 23, 2011). xlvi Crespo v. Crespo, 989 A.2d 827 (N.J. 2010). xxix
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People v. Arizmendi, 2011 Cal. App. Unpub. LEXIS 7284 (Cal. App. Ct. Sept. 27, 2011); People v. James, 174 Cal. App. 4th 662 (Cal. App. 3rd Dist. 2009). xlviii People v. Perkins, 880 N.Y.S.2d 209 (N.Y. App. Div. 2009). xlix State v. Schultz, No. 10-CM-138 (Clark Cty. Cir. Ct. Oct. 12, 2010). l Wisconsin v. Brown, 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 305 (Wis. Ct. App. Apr. 17, 2012); Wisconsin v. Little, 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 66 (Wisc. Ct. App. Jan. 26, 2012). li State v. Tomas, No. 526776 (Ohio Ct. Com. Pl. Dec. 7, 2010) (finding that “the State has no compelling interest in prohibiting this particular defendant from possessing firearms in his place of business and home” and declaring the statute “unconstitutional when a Defendant with no felony convictions…possesses firearms in his home or business, for the limited purpose of self-defense.”) lii Herrington v. United States, 6 A.3d 1237 (D.C. 2010). liii Magnus v. United States, 2011 D.C. App. LEXIS 3 (Jan. 6, 2011). liv See, e.g., Enos v. Holder, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 25759 (E.D. Cal. Feb. 28, 2012); United States v. Edge, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 15002 (W.D.N.C. Feb. 8, 2012); Cf,. People v. Spencer, 2012 Ill. App. LEXIS 82 (Ill. App. Ct. Feb. 6, 2012) (applying intermediate scrutiny to uphold a law because the law is presumptively valid). lv United States v. Marzzarella, 614 F.3d 85 (3d Cir. 2010); United States v. Masciandaro, 638 F.3d 458 (4th Cir. Va. 2011); United States v. Williams, 616 F.3d 685 (7th Cir. 2010); United States v. Skoien, 614 F.3d 638 (7th Cir. 2010); United States v. Reese, 627 F.3d 792 (10th Cir. 2010); Heller v. District of Columbia, 698 F. Supp. 2d 179 (D.D.C. 2010), aff’d in part and vacated in part, 670 F.3d 1244 (D.C. Cir. 2011). lvi See Bateman v. Perdue, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47336 (E.D.N.C. Mar. 29, 2012); United States v. Bay, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 106874 (D. Utah Nov. 13, 2009); United States v. Engstrum, 2009 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 33072 (D. Utah Apr. 17, 2009), but see In re United States, 578 F.3d 1195 (10th Cir. 2009); United States v. Luedtke, 589 F. Supp. 2d 1018 (E.D. Wis. Nov. 18, 2008); United States v. Erwin, 2008 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 78148 (N.D.N.Y. Oct. 6, 2008). lvii Ezell, 651 F.3d 684 at 44. lviii Nordyke v. King, 644 F.3d 776 (9th Cir. 2011). lix Kachalsky v. Cacace, 817 F. Supp. 2d 235 (S.D.N.Y. 2011). lx Nonetheless, the Kachalsky court held that the licensing scheme would be constitutional under intermediate scrutiny even if it did burden conduct protected by the Second Amendment. lxi People v. Williams, 962 N.E.2d 1148 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). lxii United States v. Laurent, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 139907 (E.D.N.Y. 2011). lxiii Wisconsin v. Brown, 2012 Wisc. App. LEXIS 305 (Wis. Ct. App. Apr. 17, 2012). lxiv See Jennings v. McCraw, No. 10-00141 (order dated 1/19/12) (unpublished); Palmer, 2011 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 2055 at 18; Akins, 2011 Ill. App. Unpub. LEXIS 1838 at P10; State v. Robinson, 2011 N.J. Super. Unpub. LEXIS 2274 (App. Div. Aug. 23, 2011); Richards v. County of Yolo, 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 51906 (E.D. Cal. May 16, 2011); Williams v. State, 10 A.3d 1167, 1178 (Md. 2011); People v. Dawson, 934 N.E.2d 598 (Ill. App. Ct. 2010), cert. denied by Dawson v. Illinois, 131 S. Ct. 2880 (U.S. 2011); People v. Yarbrough, 86 Cal. Rptr. 3d 674 (Cal. Ct. App. 2008), review denied by People v. Yarbrough (Ronnie), 2009 Cal. LEXIS 2948 (Cal., Mar. 18, 2009); People v. Williams, 962 N.E.2d 1148 (Ill. App. Ct. 2011). lxv Woollard v. Sheridan, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 28498 (D. Md. March 2, 2012); United States v. Weaver, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 29613 (S.D. W. Va. Mar. 7, 2012); Bateman v. Perdue, 2012 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 47336 (E.D.N.C. Mar. 29, 2012). lxvi United States v. Masciandaro, 638 F.3d 458 (4th Cir. Va. 2011); Peruta v. County of San Diego, 758 F. Supp. 2d 1106 (S.D. Cal. 2010). lxvii Hall v. Garcia. 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 34081 (N.D. Cal. Mar. 17, 2011); Mimes, 953 N.E.2d 55 (Illinois appellate court found that a law prohibiting guns in public “imposes a burden on the inherent right of self-defense” but nonetheless upheld the law under intermediate scrutiny.) But see State v. Schultz, No. 10-CM-138 (Clark Cty. Cir. Ct. Oct. 12, 2010) (Wisconsin trial court dismissing an indictment under the state’s law prohibiting the carrying of concealed weapons as violating the Second Amendment).
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